Halloween costumes are always a challenge. Figuring out what your child wants to be can become a yearly hassle, and the cost can get out of hand quickly when purchasing new costumes and accessories every year.
If you happen to have a daughter in dance classes, or maybe figure skating classes, then she probably has accumulated several costumes from recitals and shows. If so, why not try to recycle those costumes into usable, creative Halloween costumes? After all, you’ve already shelled out the big bucks paying for the dance or skating costumes, only for your child to get to wear it once. Why not get some extra use out of the costume, while saving money at the same time?
I have applied this to my own situation, and have created some truly beautiful and unique Halloween costumes from my daughter’s selection of dance and ice show apparel. For instance, a dark green/ pastel green dress worn in her first ice show was one year transformed into a darling “angel fairy”. What is an angel fairy? I’m not exactly sure, but that’s what we called this costume and it was a smashing success! I simply dressed my daughter in this dark green/pastel green dress, added some inexpensive wings I found at WalMart that matched perfectly, and added a color coordinating halo with magic fairy wand, and presto, Halloween costume accomplished for just a few dollars. The next year’s Halloween costume was from her first ballet recital, a beautiful light blue puffy dress. This became “fancy Dorothy” from the Wizard of Oz, you know, after she’d gotten spruced up in the Emerald City. By braiding her hair (although Dorothy’s hair went from braids to curls in the movie, we reversed it for Halloween to make her costume more recognizable), adding a basket with a stuffed dog in it, and purchasing a pair of red “ruby slippers” from a local Once Upon A Child outlet for around five dollars, my daughter was the hit of the neighborhood. Again, virtually no cost, just the use of a dance costume we had on hand, and a few simple accessories.
I’ve also created Halloween costumes by using a simple white skating dress and crocheting a pink poofy ball that I stuffed with plastic bags to make round, and carefully basting it onto the back end of the dress. Add to that, whiskers painted on with mommy’s eye liner, and some rabbit ears purchased one Easter for a dollar at a Dollar Tree store, and you have an instant little bunny rabbit. After Halloween, you can simply remove the poofy tail, and the dress is undamaged. Another year, a cowgirl ice show costume was used, and she simply wore it to be a cowgirl at her school’s Halloween Parade.If you are concerned that the costume might be too skimpy to wear on a chilly October evening, you can always use a flesh colored leotard to wear underneath, usually available at dance apparel shops, or use any matching clothing item to wear underneath.
There are so many ideas you can come up with by using the dance costumes you’ve already purchased. Most of the dresses are adorable, and when combined with a few simple accessories, can become a truly special Halloween costume. Think of combining the fancy dresses with matching wings, or tiaras, and you’ve got instant butterflies, fairies, or princesses. The possibilities are endless. Just use a little imagination and creativity and save a lot of money while making a great costume for your child to wear on Halloween.